During Colombia’s elections, 21 new openly LGBTQ candidates were elected to office, including Claudia López as Mayor of Bogota. She is the first women and openly LGBTQ person elected mayor of a major city in Latin America.

A quick update on the tumultuous political situation in Peru: our former trainee Gahela Tseneg is running for Congress in Peru! She is the first trans person to be a candidate for Congress in Peru. Luisa Redilla, also one of our trainees, was the first ever trans candidate in Peru and first council member in the Country.

After a decision of the electoral court in Peru, Alberto de Belaunde will be able to run for a seat in Congress again. He registered as a candidate last week, after receiving our Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award.

Canada is working hard to protect LGBTQ rights worldwide while defending LGBTQ Canadians. Read more about their efforts here.

LGBTQ Victory Institute and Diversidad Dominicana have opened registration for the School of LGBTI Political Leadership in the Dominican Republic! The third School will be in Santo Domingo and will consist of three modules. Registration is open until December 30. Learn more and register here!

Victory Institute was invited by the Committee on Judicial and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) to exchange strategies and best practices to combat violence and discrimination against LGBTI persons. Victory Institute spoke about its experience working in the region and the importance of representation and political participation of LGBTQ persons. We invited Alberto de Belaunde to share his testimony on the impact that diversity has in public office.

Thank you to all our generous conference sponsors and our presenting sponsor, Comcast. We couldn’t host such an amazing conference without their support!

It’s official: our annual Conference is wrapped up for 2019. By all accounts, it was a phenomenal time. You can view all the photos (and tag people!) here.

Here’s the highlights of some of our favorite moments:

While 2018 saw a Rainbow Wave of LGBTQ candidates, we’re getting ready for an ever bigger wave in 2020 – a Rainbow Tsunami, if you will. Wondering how we’re going to train and activate those new LGBTQ leaders? Watch Mayor Parker’s speech here.  

During International Pre-Conference Programming: Populism vs. Democracy, Mayor Parker also described the various threats that are encroaching on democracy.

U.S. Congresswoman Sharice Davids joined Victory Institute to discuss being the only openly LGBTQ indigenous elected official.  

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders spoke from the Main Stage to give a quick update on the 2020 Presidential race and reaffirm his commitment to LGBTQ issues. Attendees also heard from Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren via video.

Rising LGBTQ leaders Deb Butler and Alberto de Belaunde received the 2019 Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award from past winners Carlos Guillermo Smith and Danica Roem!

U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal received the Congressional Ally Award and spoke to our attendees about immigration reform and called for Stephen Miller’s resignation. Busy day!

Thanks to our generous sponsors at AARP, we taped our first podcast: Reclaiming Our History: Stonewall 50. Coming soon to a podcast medium near you!

Meanwhile, old friends connected, and new friendships were made. With LGBTQ elected officials and program attendees from Kansas to California to Nebraska in attendance, it’s truly the BEST gathering of LGBTQ leaders in the world!

Save the date for next year’s International LGBTQ Leaders Conference: Wednesday December 2 – Saturday December 5. See you next year!

Victory Institute’s International Team traveled to Recife, Brazil for Ocupa Política – a gathering of progressive organizations, activist groups and more seeking to transform national outrage into political participation. Victory Institute organized a panel with state legislator Robeyonce De Lima, the first trans woman elected in Brazil’s northeastern Pernambuco state. Read the full update on the event here!

LGBTQ Victory Institute and Diversidad Dominicana have opened registration for the School of LGBTI Political Leadership in the Dominican Republic! The third module will be in Santo Domingo and will consist of three sessions. Registration is open until November 30. Learn more and register here!

We spend a lot of time on the road - but we wouldn’t travel with anyone but our generous travel partner, Southwest Airlines! A HUGE thank you to Southwest Airlines for their support and partnership.

Interested in attending one of our 2020 programs? Applications for our Candidate and Campaign Trainings, Victory Congressional Internships and Victory Empowerment Fellowship ARE NOW LIVE! Apply today!